Blind Date, the restaurant
by Wolfyred
Summary: Alya and Nino set up Mari and Adrien on a 'Blind Date' (blindfolded). They don't have to tell each other their names. However they recognize each others voice. They continue the date anyway, agreeing not to see who the other is. Before they can leave Alya and Nino come up and unknowingly 'reveal' their identities.
1. Chap 1 - Set

"Please please please, dude you would be doing me such a huge favour. These reservations are so hard to come by and Alya can't make it." Nino was almost on his knees beside Adrien.

Adrien looked at Nino from his spot on the couch in Nino's dorm room and shook his head. "Just what is so special about this restaurant that you want me to go to? And why do I have to go with some girl instead of you?"

They didn't get to hang out with each other as much since they started university, and Nino had spent the past hour complaining to Adrien about this missed chance to dine in a fancy, exclusive restaurant, then he started begging Adrien to go instead.

"It's that place called 'Blind Date'. You go there and they blindfold you before you go into the restaurant. A waiter takes you to your table and then you eat in the dark. Everything is finger friendly and supposed to be really delicious. Alya only got a reservation because of the Ladyblog. Unfortunately she had a special project come up and she has to go interview someone on the same night." Nino had gotten up and was pacing while he was talking.

Adrien had heard of 'Blind Date' and he had been wanting to check it out. "How come I can't go with you?"

"Dude! Seriously? It's like a dating spot. And as much as I love ya bro, I already got a girlfriend." Nino chuckled.

Adrien laughed. "Still, why do you want me to go? Can't Alya just cancel the reservation or ask them to change the date you guys go?"

"She tried," Nino sighed and slouched on the couch beside Adrien. "They told her since it was for a special media night they couldn't cancel it. Lots of food critics are going to be there. And if she wants a different night we have to go on the waiting list and they aren't getting tables for another six months so it would be pointless. We are going to make another reservation for us, but six months dude. And from what I can tell, if you haven't been hanging out with me, you haven't been going out at all. You need a break from studying."

"Fine," sighed Adrien. "I'll go."

"Awesome dude!" Nino tackled hugged Adrien. "You won't regret it. Alya says a friend from one of her classes is really nice. She's into art and drawing."

"What else can you tell me about her? What's her name?" Adrien had gotten up and went to the mini-fridge to get a drink.

"Not telling you anything."

"What?"

Nino walked over to where Adrien was standing near the 'kitchen' of the dorm room. "Well, Alya thought that since the place is called 'Blind Date' we'd set you up on one. She has told me almost nothing about the girl."

Adrien put his drink on the meager counter space and crossed his arms. "Nino, you know I don't like getting set up like this."

"It's not really a set up or actual blind date. Alya's friend isn't interested in dating herself and is just going to 'meet someone' since she doesn't know too many other people at school and she doesn't mind doing Alya a favour keeping the reservation. She's apparently kind of shy. Alya thinks this might help her talk to others."

Adrien paused for a moment. "Nothing is expected of me?"

Nino put his hand over his heart, "Zip. Just go to dinner, talk, enjoy the free food and tell me and Alya all about the meal later. You guys don't even have to tell each other your names until the meal is almost over. That way you don't have to worry about her suddenly turning fan-girl on you."

Adrien thought for a moment. He hadn't been hanging out with Nino, Alya and Marinette as a group much since starting university. Maybe getting together every other week or more. He felt a small need to get out and have some fun.

While his dad had let up on most of the activities he had been doing before, (photo shoots were still a must) he hadn't really gone out and done much. It had been mostly studying, patrolling and sleeping whenever he was free.

He didn't know too many people at school either. Well, maybe he deserved a night off from being on his own.

"Fine when?" Adrien gave up and Nino was excited.


	2. Chap 2 - Up

"This Friday night." Alya gave Marinette a piece of paper with the address of the restaurant and some instructions.

"Are you sure you want Me to go?" While Marinette agreed that she should take some time off of her studies and relax she wasn't sure about meeting a stranger. For dinner. While blindfolded... In the dark.

"Don't worry gurl. Apparently he's a sweetie. Very polite Nino says. He's studying business so he's smart. He doesn't seem to get out much. He and Nino go for coffees once in a while and I think he may just be boring."

"Alya!" Marinette giggled and sat on the chaise in her room. While she attended university she was still staying with her parents. It would have cost too much for a private room at school and she didn't want to have to worry about Tikki being seen by a roommate.

Alya sat down beside her. "I would love to go to this place with Nino but I really have to do this interview. It could become a big part of my grade. I thought you might want to have some fun and maybe get your mind off Adrien."

Marinette shrank into herself a little bit. "Alya, I can't help it. I can't get over him." While she could compose herself and talk normally in front of Adrien now, she still loved him. They were better friends, closer friends, but she still loved him deep in her heart.

"And that is why you need to do this. Go have a night of free food and good company. Maybe it will help you work up some courage to either go ask Adrien out, or show you that there are other men out there and you can be happy with one of them." Alya put her arm around Marinette.

It pained Alya that while her friend had gotten better at talking with Adrien by the time they finished high school, she had never really worked up the courage to tell him how she really felt. It was like Mari was purposefully putting herself down by saying that Adrien wouldn't be interested in her that way. And Alya knows Mari is one of the most selfless, caring and giving people out there. She was definitely worthy of Adrien.

"Nino says his friend isn't interested in dating right now. Too much schoolwork. But he wouldn't mind meeting other people at school to hang out with and have coffee with from time to time. No strings, no pressure, just some company." Alya gave Mari a comforting shoulder shake.

"Honestly, the things I do for you." Marinette scolded Alya.

Alya grinned, she knew her bestie would be mad at her later but she was doing this for both of them. If Mari and Adrien didn't get past this awkward 'just friends' phase they seem to be eternally in, then neither of them could be happy. Either with each other or apart. Either Adrien liked Mari or he didn't. He seemed to enjoy her company and treated her as something more than just a friend, but he also seemed to keep her hanging. Like he didn't even realize that he liked her that way. This had to end between them soon!


	3. Chap 3 - First one in is

Mari looked up at the building on the Friday night. It was a modest 3-story building like most others in an older section of Paris. But it was in beautiful shape and the smells she could sniff from outside were inviting. The sign, Blind Date, was done in a tasteful scroll font on wood and lit with small lamps above the door. There was stucco over the sides of the building and the top half of the front. It had been painted blue at some point and was now faded to a light creamy blue. Almost eggshell blue.

She took a deep breath and wondered why she had spent so much time picking out something to wear. According to Alya's instructions, she was to show up at 6:45pm and tell them she was there under the Césaire reservation. They would put a blindfold on her and lead here to a table. She was to be joined by her date a few minutes later.

They wouldn't be able to see each other until after the date was over. Even then they weren't to tell each other their names until the end. And then only if they felt like they wanted to. She could even ask him to leave separately if things didn't go well. They had to keep the blindfolds on until they left the restaurant too. They didn't have to see each other at all.

Still, just in case, she had picked out her outfit with care and used her designer's eye to make sure she looked nice. She wore a red pencil skirt with taupe nylons and simple black flats. Her sleeveless blouse was charcoal grey with a small frill down each side of the buttons. Since spring was well and truly here, she had opted for a light white jacket with sleek lines down to the top of her waist and the sleeves cut off below her elbows so she didn't have to worry about getting it into her food.

She let her hair hang loose for a change. While she still occasionally put her hair in pigtails, she had been keeping it in a ponytail while she was in school, studying or working on her designs. With it loose it came down past her shoulders to almost mid-upper arm. Maybe she should have put it up in a bun, but with the blindfold that may have been a bad idea. She had a small bag hanging from her shoulder to her hip where Tikki was resting. She might even try to slip a bit of food to Tikki if she thought she might get away with it.

She walked up to the door. The waiter welcomed her and took down the reservation name. He showed her into a small area just inside the main doors where a curtain separated the tiny room from the main restaurant. The waiter blindfolded her and handed her off to a waitress who took Mari to what must have been an area close to the back of the main room.

She sat down. Marinette was kind of looking forward to this. She was always up to trying new foods and having a 'date' she was able to dress up and and feel good about herself.

With schoolwork, a part-time job, and being Ladybug, she needed to stop and slow down for an evening. She was glad that her and Chat had decided to have nights off from patrol.


	4. Chap 4 - Not a rotten egg

Adrien was glad that he didn't have patrol tonight. Long ago he and Ladybug had decided that while they wanted to patrol the streets of Paris to stop petty crimes and keep up the moral of the citizens, they both knew they would need time for themselves and school work. High school work gave way to university school work so there was no change there. They had decided that they would do 2 nights patroling together, 4 alternating nights of only one of them and 1 night free for both. That way they each only did 4 nights a week and had 3 evenings for school work. They shifted up the nights every month and this month they had Fridays off.

That was good luck for the 'date' Nino arranged. He just hoped that the girl didn't recognize him as Adrien the famous model. He should probably slip a little 'Chat' into his manners to keep from being recognized right away. But not too much in-case they hit it off and started hanging out. He didn't want to have to explain a big difference in personality. Adrien had to keep in mind that he was an Agreste, even though he felt more comfortable as Chat.

Adrien was dressed in a plain off-white suit jacket, dark navy blue pants, with light beige shoes. He had a darker short sleeve dress shirt on under the jacket so he could take it off while he ate. There was a roomy pocket inside the jacket for Plagg to snuggle down in. Adrien had promised him some extra cheese in the car after the 'date' was over. He didn't want to bring the smell of Camembert into the restaurant. And while Plagg complained, he did agree.

He again wondered if this was a good idea as he parked away from the restaurant and walked over. Be there at 6:55pm sharp, Nino had told him. That way he wouldn't see who his date might be. She should be inside by then. Dinner would start at 7:15 after a few announcements. He had thought about arriving sooner and trying to figure out who he would be seeing, but Nino had stressed that it was a Blind Date, so he left it at that and arrived at the door just before the time.

The waiter took down the name of the reservation and said that the lady was already inside waiting. He led Adrien to a small area that was curtained off from the restaurant and he was blindfolded. The waitress took him to the table and offered to take his jacket and hang it on the back of the chair.

Adrien thanked her and felt his way into his seat.

"Umm, hi." came a shy voice from in front of him.

Adrien smiled and then realized she couldn't see him. "Hello," he said. "Nino mentioned that we don't have to tell each other our names if we don't want too. Are you ok with that? Will you let me know if you want to tell me your name later?"

"Let's see how things go and then we can decide." The voice in front of him was still shy but a little more clear. Adrien figured that she might be feeling better knowing that he would respect her wish to remain anonymous if she wanted. However that first shy 'hi' felt familiar.

"Ladies and gentlemen," came a voice over a speaker system from near their table. "Welcome to Blind Date. A place where couples can get to know each other without pressure, or couples that have been together for awhile can get to know each other all over again."

"There are a few rules for you to listen to before we begin. First, while you are blindfolded, our staff are not. There is low level lighting in the room so we can see in need of an emergency. Please let us know if you need to use the powder room and you will be escorted at any time during the meal. We will not be telling you what you are eating, we want you to just enjoy the food and company. There will be four courses, all of which can be eaten with your hands. Should you wish to try cutlery in the dark we will provide some. After each course we will provide damp cloths to wipe your hands before the next one. You should have all preregistered if you have allergies to foods. If you do have some and have not informed us please raise your hand and a server will be by to chat with you. And now onto the meal. Bon appétit!"

Music came on over the speakers, soft classical flowed over the room. Just loud enough to register but not enough to interfere with conversation.

"Good thing I'm not allergic to any food. Are you?" Adrien inquired.


	5. Chap 5 - First course revelations

"No, not allergic to anything." Marinette felt a little self-conscious. She hoped that her date wouldn't be disappointed in her social skills. She had gone out a few times with guys in the past few years but she somehow either compared them to Chat or Adrien and there were very few second dates. Not tonight. No comparing tonight. No Adrien, no Chat, just the man in front of her. Focus on him.

"So, Nino says you're studying business?" Marinette felt that was a safe subject to start with.

"I thought Alya set you up on this?" The voice sounded a little surprised.

"Well Alya is a friend, but really, sometimes you just can't be with Alya without Nino." she explained.

There was a chuckle across from her. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Know one, know the other."

Marinette felt something strange when he chuckled. She couldn't quite place it but it felt familiar. Before she could ask her question again, a server cleared their throat and said that the first course was being placed before them. Marinette ran her fingertips across the table in front of her and felt the edge of the plate. She said thank you to the server and the voice across from her also said thank you.

"Well, shall we try the first course?" She asked.

"Let's, then we can get to know each other. Maybe start of with some of our general basics in school and advance from there," he chuckled.

Marinette gingerly felt around the plate for the food. She found little rolls of deep fried pastries with a small bowl of what she thought might be dipping sauce. She dipped the roll and tried it.

"Oh my, this is good." She mumbled around the food. It was like a crisp spring roll filled with savoury beef and veggies. The dip was tangy and just a little spicy. It had hints of ginger and dill.

"MMMmmmmmMMMMmmmm" was the only thing that she could hear across from her.

She giggled, "Like them that much?"

"This is incredible," came the voice of her date. Marinette was delighted that he was enjoying the food so she had another roll herself. After a moment though, the mmmming started to sound like purring. How weird, she thought.

"Whoops" he said, and the almost purring stopped. "Sorry, one of my rolls rolled away." There was the sound of his hands feeling around the table top. Marinette checked to see if it was on the table around her.

"I think I have it." She said. Her fingers had brushed against a spring roll that was on the table beside her plate and she picked it up and held it out to him with her right hand. "Oh, umm. Ha ha. How awkward. I'm holding it out to you but, can't hand it to you."

"No problem." He replied. Marinette soon felt his right hand on her left arm on the table, his fingers searching for her hand.

A slight shiver went up her back. "Uh, it's in the other hand." She started to move the spring roll towards his hand on her arm.

"Ok." He had brought up his other hand and felt for her other arm. He quickly found it and traced the fingers of his left hand up to where the spring roll was. Unfortunately he squeezed the spring roll a little too tight while taking it from her and it spilled on her fingers. "Oh no, I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Marinette quickly pulled her right hand from his grasp and licked her fingers. He still had his hand on her left arm and he moved his fingers down to let them rest lightly on the back of her hand. She could hear him munching on the spring roll he had taken from her. She was so glad he couldn't see her right now, her face felt like it had gone up in flames.

He released her arm, then said, "So, you had asked about what I'm studying. I'm mainly into business studies. My father wants me to take over the company some day. So mainly how to run a business, accounting, human resources, media relations and other stuff."

Despite her jangled nerves the voice was so familiar to Marinette. She asked, "Other stuff? What kind of other stuff?"

He chuckled and said, "I don't want to get too personal right now. We are supposed to be keeping this light and fluffy between us until we decide if we want to know each other better."

Marinette giggled and finished her last roll. "Well then, I guess I'll just imagine that the other stuff you're studying is pole dancing and jazz hands."

"Mewouch," the voice chuckled. "What must you think of me? I'll have to try to live up to your imagination then."

Marinette felt the blood drain from her face and then come rushing back. She knew that voice. She leaned as far over the table as she could risk and said in a harsh whisper, "Chat Noir? Is that you?


	6. Chap 6 - Are hard to swallow

Adrien was surprised. His brain raced a mile a minute trying to think. Had he let too much of his Chat side out? He had been relaxing and enjoying the company. Very quickly he ran over the last moments of their conversation, they had just been chating, was it the unintentional pun? He sometimes couldn't stop them, but that on it's own wouldn't be enought to think of Chat Noir. He had heard a lot of people using his puns. What else...he had purred...

Underneath the blindfold his eyes widen. Only one person knew Chat purred. He leaned closer to the voice that had called him Chat Noir and whispered back, "Ladybug?"

He heard Ladybug sit back in her chair fast enough to cause it to scrap the floor a little. That was confirmation enough for him.

"Please, my Lady," he tried to reach out to her again and found her hand on the table. He tugged her close and said in a hushed voice. "I had no idea, Nino just told me that Alya knew you from school and she told him almost nothing about you. Just that Alya felt that the reservation shouldn't go to waste. They each knew someone who needed to socialize more. Nino has no idea that I'm Chat Noir. I had no idea that it would be you." He didn't want her to think he set this up. It was an unbelievable set of strange circumstances that brought them together tonight. He didn't want to scare her away.

After a moment of silence from the other side of the table. He came to a decision to end the evening early and sighed. "If you want, we don't have to see who each other is after the meal. One of us can leave first. I won't even ask Nino who you were. I'll say while we had fun we weren't interest in each other. I could even say we didn't get along at all and don't want to see each other again. I could even leave now, I'll fake a phone call calling me away and then you can leave when you finish eating. Or y.. you can fake the call."

It pained him to say that. He so wanted to know who Ladybug was, but it was more important to him to keep her respect and abide by her wish that they don't know each other's identities. He could ask Nino after but, that would still be disrespecting his lady's wishes and he couldn't do that to her either.

While he waited for her to answer, a server came by and excused them-self to remove the dishes from the first course and offer the cloths for wiping their hands. He wiped his hands and hoped Ladybug would continue the 'date'. He really would like to get to know her better. Even if they couldn't let anything slip about who they were directly, he could at least spend some time with her in a relaxed environment. No patrol, no akumas, just two people have a meal together as it was originally planned.

A soft voice came from across the table, "I know kitty. I understand. They don't know who we are and it's all just a big coincidence." There was a soft chuckle and a scoff left her throat. "Imagine that. Somehow we both know them and they set us up." There was more soft chuckling and Adrien relaxed.

"Yup, imagine that. Of all the people they could have set up, it was us. And here we are on our night off having dinner together." Adrien chuckled too. He had to keep himself from outright laughing. They didn't need to attract attention.

There was more throat clearing from the server and the next course was put down in front of them. Adrien was glad. It seemed like Ladybug was willing to let the date continue. This was a wonderful chance. A chance to have dinner with his lady. He started to think of all the things they could talk about. Campus life, general school courses, can't mention teachers but could mention TV shows. Oh places that were calm and quite on campus. There had been a festival to celebrate literacy not that long ago.

If he didn't blurt out the wrong thing then this was a chance to get to know the woman behind the mask just a little better.


	7. Chap 7 - Going with the flow

Marinette couldn't believe it. The guy Nino met just happened to be Chat Noir. She had to admit it was really weird that they both ended up knowing Alya and Nino. She would have to make sure she told Alya that they didn't hit it off and she wasn't interested in him. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any situations where they would meet with Alya and Nino together. She would probably figure out who it was if Nino ever introduced him in his civilian form on campus.

Oh well, she thought. This is one wild ride from start to finish. I haven't gotten a chance to spend time like this with Chat since I left high school. It might be a chance to get to know him a little more, find out what he had been doing.

"So kitty," Marinette thought that was an inconspicuous name, "Let's finish the date. We don't get a chance like this to be together. I do agree that we should leave separately though and let Alya and Nino know we didn't 'hit it off'."

She felt Chat relax across from her and felt relived. She really didn't get to hang out with him after patrols anymore and she had to admit to herself, she missed him. "While we can't get into too many details, how have classes been going? Studying hard?"

"Studying a lot. The classes are not that hard but there is a lot to learn. What are you studying for? Nino said Alya told him you were into art and drawing?" Chat inquired.

"Oh, I'm actually into fashion design. Right now, I design my own clothes and keep trying to improve. I'm hoping that within a couple of years I can get an internship with a big fashion design house and work up from there." I hope that's not too personal, Marinette thought, most people in the fashion course had the same goals. "I'll be adding some business courses and marketing next year so I shouldn't have too much trouble getting my name out there if I start up an online store. Currently I have some people who ask me for speciality items on commission and I have a few favourite items that I could regularly produce for sale. I'll need to learn how to promote them though."

She temporally turned her attention to the food. The second course was again, something wrapped in a pastry like wrapper. However, this was much bigger and needed two hands to hold. It was filled with the most delicately flavoured fish she had ever tasted. The sauce was a perfect consistency and again the veggies inside were a perfect complement to the meat.

She took a second bite of her fish and let Chat talk for a moment. He talked about some of his extra classes (purely for personal interest and not business) and some of the people he's met in school.

"I'm taking a course on social media in the modern world. However the professor looks like he's more at home in front of a typewriter than a computer." The was a muffled pause as it sounded like Chat took a bite of the fish pastry. "Oh this *is* nice," he mumbled around the food. Without missing a beat he went back to talking about the class. "He actually has a great grasp on how what we post out to the internet can now reach more than a million people in less than an hour and we need to be cautious about what we post."

"But if we don't post anything," Marinette chimed in, "doesn't that defeat the purpose of social media? Isn't it supposed to bring people together? Let people in far off lands see what is happening in your own home town?"

"True, but I really don't need to know what colour David's toenail fungus is in the outback of Australia any more than Jill in the Yukon needs to know that Richard in the Congo can't sleep because of the snake bite on his leg."

"Kitty!" Marinette gasped and giggled.

"No, it's true. So much out there is pointless to the 'social' aspect of Social Media. Letting people know that there has been a natural disaster and people need help, letting people know about this great online or real life shop that sells neat gadgets, showing off your favourite band or designer, that's all great examples of being social. And that is what the class is all about, how to best use social media for promoting people, places, and ideas. Not just announcing that you got out of the shower and found a pimple on your back." Chat then made noises sounding like he was gagging.

"Chat," Marinette chided.

As they finish up the second course they switched subjects and chatted comfortably. Talking about other things that happened on campus, funny stories or interesting things in the news.

They paused again as the dishes were cleared to make way for the third course, only talking again when they thought there was no staff was close. Chat regaled her with some new puns and jokes he picked up from some guys at the gym he worked out in, and Marinette was happy that he seemed to be enjoying himself.

She couldn't help but remember times where it seemed like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. This Chat seemed happier, and she may have never found this out if they hadn't been set up on the blind date.


	8. Chap 8 - Can be confusing

The third course was a bowl of something. There was bread slices on the side so he took that to mean that he was supposed to dip or scoop the bowl contents with the bread rounds. It was a delicious thick stew. It had chicken, turkey and pheasant. Large chunks of carrots, celery and some other veggies he couldn't quite place. He dipped his bread and found it a little more difficult to eat this course though it tasted really good.

Adrien had wanted to ask Ladybug if she took classes with Marinette. He remembered that they had both said they knew each other way back in high school. Marinette was a great designer and he was waiting for the day she applied to his dad's business. He would hopefully get to see her more then. Even if it was only in passing in the hallways or on a photo shoot.

He stopped himself though. He realized that would be too personal and if Ladybug said yes then he would have a way to find her and that would also be disrespectful of her wishes to remain anonymous. While he loved the woman across from him, he wanted to treat her the best he could. He would never forgive himself if he did something to drive her away.

So, he stayed on fun topics. He tried to flirt to make her laugh, but without her being able to see his coy glances and hand gestures, he felt like it didn't ring as true. But that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying himself while making her happy tonight. He let his Chat side out. This meant that while he talked his hands kept trying to find her hands in the dark. He tried to make it seem like he just didn't notice or realize that he had brushed her fingers or the back of her hands with his own.

"I mean it was hilarious to see some Sigma Theta Pie members putting on a play to encourage new members, but I don't want to join. Also was that the best idea to do at a literacy festival?" Adrien had eventually finished his bowl and while he couldn't wait for the desert/cheese course, he didn't want his time to end with Ladybug.

"Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to use the facilities." Ladybug stated.

"No problem, my lady." Adrien was about to stand up and help Ladybug out of her chair when he realized that he couldn't see a thing. He had been enjoying his talk so much that he forgot he was blindfolded. He heard a server come over and Ladybug whisper that she had to use the powder room. A soft scraping of the chair on the floor and receding footfalls let him know she was gone from the table.

He ate the last of the bread while thinking on what they had been chatting about. He remembered about the possibility of Ladybug and Marinette still knowing each other. While Marinette was better at talking with him, he couldn't ask if she still talked to Ladybug. Not as Adrien and not as Chat. Come to think of it he hadn't been by her balcony as Chat since about a week after high school was over. Too busy. Maybe he could find a night to visit her after patrol in the next few weeks. Recently he only ever saw her as Adrien when they were with Alya and Nino. He still didn't understand why she was still sometimes so nervous around him. Even though she could now talk without stuttering it was like she was on edge around him.

He had done his best to get Marinette to warm up to him by leaning close, touching her arm or hand and making sure they had eye contact while they were all hanging out with Alya and Nino. He wanted her to be more comfortable around him. He wanted to hang out with her more. What was he doing wrong?

She still seemed so on edge with him. So unlike how Ladybug was with him. Wait, why was he thinking of Marinette right now? He was with Ladybug, he should be thinking of more things to talk about with her over the final course. Yet here he was thinking that he wouldn't mind being with Mari if he hadn't fallen in love with Ladybug first.


	9. Chap 9 - Staying the course

As Marinette was guided to the restroom one thought went through her mind at a very fast pace, Why does Chat's touch keep doing that to me?

Upon reaching the restroom the server explained that they were individual bathroom stalls with toilets and sinks. Marinette was to go in, close the door, then remove her blindfold before doing what she needed to do. After she was finished she was to put the blindfold back on and open the door. The server would wait for her and lead her back to the table.

Marinette took off the blindfold and stared at herself in the mirror. "What have you gotten yourself into?" She mumbled to herself.

She ran some cool water and splashed it on her cheeks to try and calm herself down. When Chat Noir had held her hands before she knew he was Chat Noir, she had felt shivers run up her spine. His touch had been electric to her. At the time a traitorous thought had popped up, wondering if Adrien would make her feel like that.

Then when she realized that he was Chat, she thought that his touch wouldn't bother her anymore. In front of her was her partner and friend. But as the evening went on they kept bumping hands as the talked. He would often stroke or caress her for the briefest of moments before taking his hand away. He possibly thought she didn't notice. But, in reality, it still sent little shivers through her every. single. darn. time!

I'm still in love with Adrien, I can't seem to get over him. She told herself. Why am I letting Chat do this to me? I could just keep my hands to my side of the table and the touching would stop. So why don't I? Arrugh! Chat was frustrating her in a very unusual way. Again.

Back in high school she had off and on thought that Chat was nice when he visited her. Even after the Weredad fiasco. If it hadn't been for that, if it hadn't been for her loving Adrien, back then she may have dated him. As Marinette or Ladybug. She knew that way back then. She was shocked to find it still true.

She couldn't hide in the bathroom any longer, so she put on the blindfold and was escorted back to the table. The sever offered the cloth that had been left for her and Marinette re-wiped her hands and handed the cloth back.

"All better my lady?" Chat asked her after the server had left.

"Yes kitty." She said and really hoped that he couldn't feel the heat from her cheeks.

"I hope you don't mind, but when they took away the dishes from the last course the server asked if we would like some coffee. I took the liberty to ask for a light coffee for you."

Marinette didn't mind. They had both refused the wine that was offered with each course. They had been drinking water and she could use something strong right now. "It's fine."

The server came back and announced. "The desert and cheese tray is to be shared. Your coffees will arrive after to round out the meal."

From the sound of it a single large plate was placed on the table between them. So much for keeping her hands away from Chat's.

"Well, please excuse my fingers if they get on something before you take it." Chat had almost purred out the line. It was flirting, defintely flirting. She could dismiss the flirting. Right?

"No problem kitty." She almost stammered. She put her hands forward and felt for the plate. She explored with her fingertips and found that there was different slices of cheese, small tarttlets and mini-pastries. She picked up a piece of cheese and a pastry.

"So how long will you be in university kitty?"

"About three years total. You?"

"Maybe two and a half."

"Ah, you'll be out in the workforce before me." Chat had brushed her hand again while he was looking for a bit of dessert.

"No! Umm not really. I'll have that intern position for a year learning under professionals. Then I'll come back for a half year of more business studies and my final portfolio presentation." Marinette felt a little more relaxed talking again. She was mostly ignoring the occasional touches that happened while they were reaching for the desserts.

"Well, what happens then? Your own fashion line?"

Marinette smiled. "No, before I get my own fashion line I'll spend a few years making a name for myself, if not in a fashion house then maybe with that online store. Then who knows. What about you? Straight into the family business?"

"Paw-sibly." Both of them chuckled. "Right now I'm really enjoying myself. I have less restrictions then when I was a teenager. Though I'm trying to find more time to play video games."

"Oh really? Which ones?"

"Well, there's Rhythm Bust, Rageblood, KartSkool and Ultimate Mecha Strike V."

"Ultimate Mecha Strike V?" Marinette gasped. "When did that come out?"

Chat brushed her hand again as she was about to pickup a piece of cheese. "Just last month. I have a friend that is usually very good at the series and I want to beat her at it."

Marinette knew that he meant her. They would occasionally play when he visited her during high school. She was going to have get a copy for herself now. "So you need to level yourself up before you challenge her? She must be pretty good, or you're just that bad." She teased.

"Naw, she is good. She is pawsome at games. She plays against her dad all the time and that's how she gets so good."

That's right, dad might have a copy already, Marinette thought. "Well I hope that you get in some practice and have some fun battling against her." She now wondered when Chat might come over to play video games.

"Are you any good at it my lady?" Chat inquired.

"Me? Um why would you think I play video games?" She stammered a little.

Chat brushed her hand again with his. "Well you sounded so surprised that the next version was out. I thought maybe you had played them in the past." It felt like he leaned towards her a little, "Were you good?"

"Y-yeah Kitty. I used to play lots of video games. I was alright at Ultimate Mecha Strike II and III. I played some video games before I started university. Now I just don't seem to have the time."

"I know how that can get. I barely get enough time to hang out with some of my civilian friends, like Nino. Finding extra time for video games on my own is tough. School work has to come first sometimes."

Marinette felt around the plate and couldn't find any more cheese or pastries. Or so she thought. She had her fingers on what felt like the last of the jam tarttlets, just as Chat's fingers wrapped around hers.

"I guess this is the last one my lady." A chill went up her spine and back down as Chat said that. All the breath fled from her lungs and she hastily dragged in some more.


	10. Chap 10 - Can lead to derailment

With this being the last bit of dessert Adrien knew that his 'date' was about to be over. He grabbed Ladybugs hand more firmly, leaving the tart behind, and brought it to his lips for a kiss. He heard another ragged breath from her and chuckled.

"My lady, it looks like our 'date' is almost over. However I don't want it to end."

Marinette felt her face flush and her heart rate quicken. "Kitty," she said quietly, "you know we can't see each other outside of our masks. If we knew who the other was it could affect how we fight together. We agreed to leave separately."

Adrien nodded. "I know but, we don't have to be together out of the masks tonight. I'll leave first and transform. I'll head to the Arc de Triomphe and we can meet up there after you transform. We can hang out together and either stargaze or talk some more."

Marinette thought for a moment. It would be nice to hang out with Chat Noir for a bit. They could go separately and avoid finding out who each other was.

Sensing her reluctance Adrien continued. "I know I left the rest of my evening open just in case the date went well and 'she' wanted to continue to hang out together. I would assume that you, planner that you are, may have done the same thing. Am I right?"

After a pause and a heavy sigh, "Yes kitty," Marinette agreed. "I did leave my evening open in case things went well." She paused again and Adrien held his breath. "Ok. You go out first and I'll meet up with you in about half an hour. I need to do stuff first." Like get my heart under control, she thought.

"That's fine my lady. Even though we don't have to pay, I'll need to move my car so I don't get a parking ticket. Please give me about 5 minutes before you leave if you can."

The server brought their coffee finally as Marinette ate the last tartlet. "Well, I guess leaving will have to wait for a moment. We should finish our coffee first."

Marinette had lifted her coffee and taken a mouthful as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Mari, I knew you would have a good time. Wasn't he a complete sweetie like I said?" Alya was standing behind Marinette, beaming with a grin from ear to ear. If Adrien didn't have the blindfold on he would have been blinded she was so sun-shinny happy. But instead he had just taken a sip of his coffee and proceeded to choke on it after hearing Marinette's nick name.

Nino piped up from behind Adrien, "Yo, Adrien dude, are you alright?" Nino then proceeded to unhelpfully pound Adrien on the back.

Now Marinette started to choke on the mouthful of coffee that she had been too frozen to swallow.

"Mari!" Exclaimed Alya. Both Alya and Nino tried to help their friend recover from the coffee.

When Adrien felt a little in control of himself he pulled off the blindfold and stared at Marinette as she reached up to take her blindfold off too. Adrien's heart dropped as he saw the look of sheer terror on Marinette's face. She turned to Alya and started stammering.

"A-Alya?! Wha- what is going on?" Marinette and Adrien both seemed to notice at the same time that the restaurant was empty except for the four of them.

"Nino, what is all this?" Adrien fixed a cold hard stare on his best friend.

Alya answered for him. "Well my mom has been co-owner of this restaurant for the past couple of years and she's wanted to change up the menu for a little while. Since the place would have been closed tonight and this weekend, she was going to have the four of us taste the new dishes. I got the idea to have the two of you go on a 'Blind Date'."

Adrien watched Marinette. He didn't think she heard a thing Alya had said. He watched as Marinette seemed to panic and grow close to tears. Was him being Chat that big a problem? Was it the other way around and 'Adrien' was the problem with their super-hero relationship?

"Dude, we just got tired of seeing the two of you dancing around your feelings and unintentionally hurting each other. Adrien, you obviously care about Marinette as more than a friend but you just can't admit it to yourself, you've turned down countless other ladies and have kept to yourself. And Mari, you have been so crazy about the boy since the first year of highschool, that you keep hangin' on to him without letting him know you want more." Nino stated the cold hard truth to them.

"After all this time you guys need to either let each other go or take the next step." Alya continued. "This is hurting both of you. And we love you both so much that we don't want to see either of you hurting anymore. You both deserve to be happy."

By now Nino had moved beside Alya, showing he supported her in this attempt to get their friends together.

Marinette's mind was running amuck and she didn't hear Alya and Nino very clear. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. She loved Adrien, she loved Chat Noir? Did Adrien like her as Marinette? Did he love her just because she was Ladybug?

Some of what Alya and Nino had said finally reached her brain and of course so got some of it wrong as she was overthinking things. She looked up at Adrien as he stood up from his chair. Was she leading Adrien on? Was she? He cared for her more than he showed? He actually liked her and kept himself from other women? She couldn't take it in right then. He now knew that she had been in a full on crazy/stalker crush for him since that first day. She had to get out.

Adrien watched the emotions race across Marinette's face as he got up from his seat and moved around the table to stand beside her. She watched him every step of the way.

Just before he could kneel down beside her she jumped up. Marinette grabbed her purse and and ran for the door. "I'm sorry! I just can't.. I can't do this now," she yelled as she fled.

Alya was shocked for a moment then she barked "Adrien! What are you doing just standing around. Go after her! You two are the biggest dopes I have seen, you both like each other. Just give it a try. Go after her, don't just let her run away!"

Adrien had watched the woman he love run away. He had watched the girl he had grown fond of flee. Determination set in. She was not getting away now that he knew both her halves.

Adrien looked at Alya standing there, giving him a death glare that said if he didn't move his ass she would beat it for him. Nino just looked on like him thought he was being stupid for standing around. "Thank you for showing me how stupid I've been. Now I'm going to go get her and fix this. We'll be back." He ran from the restaurant, grabbing his jacket as he went by his seat. He saw her running down a street. Dodging through the crowd.


	11. Chap 11 - No one expects

The only thing on Marinette's mind right now was that she had hurt Adrien and Chat Noir. She felt horrible after realizing that Alya and Nino were right. She had kept encouraging Adrien to be friends with her without admitting her true feelings. She had been stringing along Chat by letting him flirt with her even though she had told him long ago that she was in love with another boy. Over the past couple of years she had softened towards him. Not rebuffing him as often or as hard when his flirting got a little heavy.

Adrien was keeping pace with her, albet from a distance. "Mari!" He shouted. "Mari please slow down! Stop! I want to talk with you! I need to talk with you!" He had pulled on his jacket as he was running. He was starting to get tired as he chased her down another street. As he ran his mind went over the similarities he had finally noticed between Marinette and Ladybug. The way they both would stand up for what was right, comfort those in need and helped out others whenever she could. As he ran, in his mind, both women blurred into one and he knew there was no way he could let her go. He loved her, all of her.

Marinette was getting winded. While she was in great shape because of her superhero duties, without the suit she couldn't run as long as Ladybug. She couldn't face him. She needed time. Time to think and see if she could understand it all. She needed to get away faster. She ducked down an alleyway and looked into her purse, intending to transform and flee. "Tikki, spots ... ahh... Plagg?!" It had been a while since she had seen Chat Noir's kwami. And here he was, in her purse, curled around Tikki, grinning at her.

Adrien almost dashed past the alley Marinette had gone down when he heard her call out, Plagg?! He ran back and looked at her, they were both panting hard and out of breath.

Plagg floated up out of the purse she was holding up. Before Plagg could say anything Adrien rushed to Marinette and pulled her close by her waist and kissed her. She dropped her purse to her side and tried to push him away. Knowing what he felt for both sides of her, that she was one glorious and amazing woman, Adrien wasn't letting her go. He pulled his lips from hers and said. "No, I'm not letting you go. We're going to talk." He pulled her head to his chest, wrapping his arms around her, he held on to her for dear life. He wasn't going to lose her now. Not now.

Marinette tried to push Adrien away. She yelled at him, punched his arms where she could reach. Pulled at his back, pushed at his chest. "Let me go! Adrien I can't do this! We aren't supposed to know each other under the mask! Let me go! I can't take this! I tried to get over you and I couldn't. Leave me alone! Why? Why do you make me feel like this Chat? Why can't I let you go. Please, let me go!"

"I love you Marinette." Adrien stated as she continued to fight. It was starting to feel like she was fighting herself more than him. "I love you, both sides of you. I want to fix this," he murmured into her hair. "Princess, I'm not letting you run from this, from me," he ended on a horse whisper.

"We can't! Chat, Adrien. Why do you do this to me? Why?" Marinette kept on for a moment or two more. Saying unintelligible things. The pressure of it all, all the years, all the longing, all the confused feelings, the need to keep her heroself apart from Chat and never admitting to Adrien how she felt, came out, slowing down her fight. Eventually she was holding him and just crying into his chest. There in the comfort of Adrien's arms she held on to him and let the flood wash away from her.

They stood like that for a while. Marinette just crying to let the emotions out, Adrien holding her, mummering half words of understanding and love into her hair, letting her know that he was there for her.

Some people had looked at them as they stood in the alley way. They stopped staring as Marinette calmed down. Eventually they all walked away. Not caring about the crazy couple in the alley, crying.

Finally Adrien relaxed his hold on Marinette. She pulled her head back and looked up at him. She saw that he had been crying too. And in that moment, the look of caring was one she had seen on both of his faces, and he blended into one.

"I love you Marinette." Adrien stated again.

She tried to rub away her tears with her arm. "No you don't, you love Ladybug. Not Marinette. I've know since the night we fought Andre after he was turned into Glaciator. You had set up that whole special evening. You were sincere with your feelings for Ladybug when you were talking with me as Marinette. I knew it, yet I didn't try to talk Chat out of it."

Adrien wiped away some of her tears with his right thumb. "If I remember correctly, a little later as Ladybug, you told me that you had feelings for another boy, and that you didn't want to lie to me about that. You didn't want to hurt me. I was the one who kept hoping. I was the one that kept trying to show you how nice it could be between the two of us. I settled on friendship with Ladybug but wished for something more."

"But you never forced me. You weren't some creep that kept trying to win my affections after I said no. I kept leading you on. Letting you flirt and stuff. Over the years I guess I kind of grew to like it. The attention that Chat Noir was paying Ladybug." Marinette sniffed a little, the tears almost gone.

"Well maybe as Ladybug you led Chat Noir on, but I think as Adrien I led Marinette on. I have to admit at first I was totally confused by the way you used to stammer and freak out when I talked to you after the gum incident. I thought you hated me for the longest time. Then I would see you act strong and tough at times. Leading the other students as class represenative. And other times you were calm around me and I got to see you, see how cute you were. And, I guess I didn't want to lose your friendship. I kept trying to keep you close. I finally admitted to myself, tonight, that if I hadn't been in love with Ladybug I may have dated Marinette."

Marinette felt her face blush. "What a night." Marinette sighed and snuggled closer to Adrien. After a moment she said,"Remember that night when we dealt with Gigantitan a second time and you followed me up to my balcony and as Marinette I said I loved you?" She felt Adrien nod against her head. "Well, not too long after I realized that I was maybe starting to like Chat Noir. After that point Chat treated Marinette a little more sweetly. Chat was also treating Ladybug gently too. I kept seeing you in a better and better light. In fact the night after I last saw Chat Noir as Marinette, just after high school finished, I thought that if I hadn't been in love with Adrien I might have gone out with Chat Noir."

Adrien threw his head back and laughed. "What a pair we are. We fell in love with half of each other and turned down the other half. Then we both go and fall in love with the half we turned down."

Marinette started giggling too. "My god kitty. What are we going to do with each other?"

Adrien looked down at Marinette, "Maybe we should shut up and kiss?" He raised his eyebrow and smiled, letting his Chat side out again. Marinette blushed and nodded her head a little. That's all it took for Adrien to swoop down and kiss the love of his life.

They held each other like they never wanted to let go. After all this time they were together with the one they fell in love with near the start of high school. They fell in love with each other twice.


	12. Chap 12 - The Kwami explaination

"Yeah that's all well and good, but you two realize that you are kissing in a dirty alleyway?" A small sarcastic voice piped up.

The couple let each other go and looked at their kwamiis.

"Plagg, why were you in Marinette's purse?" Adrien asked after a moment.

"Well, I was sitting in your jacket and I heard Marinette's voice, I knew she was Ladybug so I got out to sneak over and see if Tikki was around and we spent the evening in the purse listening to the two of you prattle on and on." Plagg rolled his eyes.

"Plagg, be nice. They just discovered they were with their partner and knew they shouldn't say anything that gave away who they are in civilian life." Tikki floated up to Adrien's face and bowed. "Nice to finally meet you Chat Noir. I'm Tikki, Ladybug's kwamii."

Adrien smiled at Tikki. "Nice to meet you as well." A thought went through his head. "You two knew we were Ladybug and Chat Noir. Did you know we were being fools about each other?"

"We didn't know you were each other until the fight with Dark Owl. Magic keeps kwamiis from saying their owner names around other kwamiis. And we couldn't tell you who the other was even after we knew. You had to find each other yourselves." Tikki giggled. "And you finally did." She laughed some more and flew around the two of them.

Plagg huffed, "Maybe now you'll stop all the whining about how much you 'love Ladybug'. 'How cute Marinette is'." Plagg had used air quotes and it was adorable. "Sometimes I wished I could have told you outright that they were the same girl. If only to stop you from making a mess of yourself."

"Plagg, sometimes it is best if you don't say anything." Marinette teased the little black kwamii.

"Wait," remembering that Marinette had said Plagg's name and that was what drew him to the alley Adrien said, "You know Plagg?" He turned to Marinette.

Marinette grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "Kind of. There have been a few times over the years where something happened to 'Chat Noir' and Plagg had to find me and help me. Also he's come up with some goofy ideas that he needed my help with on occasion."

Adrien looked at Plagg, "Is that why there was a bunch of fabric scraps and tiny styrofoam balls all over the floor that one morning?"

"Yeah, my attempt at making a fancy beanbag for sleeping on did not go well." Plagg looked sheepish.

"Adrien, we didn't like keeping the two of you in the dark." Tikki flew up to Adrien's face and hugged his cheek. "We wanted you to to find each other." She flew back around so she could see both of them. "We couldn't tell you who the other was and we couldn't let you just go around telling anybody who you were while trying to find each other. If anyone had found out who the superheros were, and it got back to Hawk Moth, he could have hurt your family or your friends to get you to give up your Miraculouses. And now that you each know the other, you are going to have to be more careful. You are going to have to try to keep some detachment during battle. When one of you gets hurt, you'll have to act like you don't care as much as you do. If Hawk Moth figures out you are a couple as superheros, he may start looking at couples in civilian form trying to find you. This is going to be harder on you two more than ever. But we know you love each so much that you will be able to deal with it and face these problems head on. Together."

"You two are the best Chat Noir and Ladybug that we've ever had." Plagg gave Marinette's shoulder a little hug.

Marinette gently cupped Plagg, and reached out to Tikki. Tikki flew into her hand and Marinette hugged them both close. Then Adrien hugged all of them together.

After a moment Plagg said, "Ok enough cheesiness. I need some real cheese." And flew out of the hug.

"Ok. First," Adrien stole another quick kiss from Marinette's lips and then dropped an arm around her waist to turn her towards the street. "First we need go back to the restaurant. Alya has threatened my ass if I didn't go after you. We need go back and let them know that things are alright between us."

Marinette held open her purse for both kwamiis to fly into. "They are more than alright kitty." They started heading back.

"Huh, you know, we are going to have to come up with other nicknames for each other. I can't call you my lady, or princess or bugaboo in front of our friends while you're Marinette." Adrien scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Mari, will do just fine. Thank you very much." Marinette bumped his hip with hers. "Shall I call you Adrikins? Or Adrihoney?" She teased him using Cloe's old nicknames for him.

Adrien shuddered, "No. No way. Just your usual breathless Adrien will do." He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Chat," she admonished.

They both walked back to the restaurant. Holding each other close and dreaming of a future together.


	13. Chap 13 - Epilogue

The talk with Alya and Nino went surprising well. When the got back Alya ran over an hugged Marinette after giving Adrien a glare for the tear tracks in Marinette's make up. Marinette assured Alya that things were set right between her and Adrien and they were going to start dating. Nino congratulated him pulled in into a bro-hug. They had a talk together and Alya's mother brought out some more items they were thinking of adding to the menu. A good long talk was had and they all felt better than ever. They made plans to meet up the following week and go to a movie. Then after the next set of exams they were going to try to get away for a few vacation days as a group. One big, long, double date.

Over the weekend they had talked to Master Fu and he was happy they had found each other. He knew most of the Ladybugs and Chat Noirs were made for each other and fell in love. There had been a few that had hated each other, some that remained only as friends, and one set that was actually twins, but a large portion of them fell in love.

With this new dynamic between them he admonished that they had to be careful during battles. They may have to watch each other get extremely hurt and not be able to do anything about it. He suggested them coming to his place to practice fight against each other.

He also mentioned that since they had found each other, that when Hawk Moth was finally defeated, Tikki and Plagg may continue to stay with them. But he would have to see how things were at that time.

It was now about a month after the reveal. Mari had moved most of her sewing supplies over to Adrien's apartment off campus. She hadn't moved in, but she had a lot of her stuff in his space and she spent lots of time there. It seemed that their relationship as crime-fighting partners pulled them closer together as dating civilians and to some people it seemed kind of fast. They just fobbed them off with excuses of having unrequited crushes on each other for such a long time as to why they were joined at the hip on occasion now.

Adrien sat on a small love-seat on the side of the room with a textbook open on his lap as she sat at a small table, hand stitching a design on a handkerchief. He spent more time watching her than reading his business management book. He loved the way she would stick out her tongue a little bit from the corner of her mouth while she was concentrating. He followed the movement of her hands as she sewed. Pulling the thread one way, spreading the material that way, tying off threads and switching to different colours and needles.

When Marinette finished with the design she held it up to show Adrien. "Does this look like a handkerchief a guy would want in his jacket dress pocket?" she asked.

Adrien got up and walked over to her, putting his book down on the table. There were gold swirls all around the edge. A blackish stylized cat face with bright green eyes was placed in the corner so that when the handkerchief was folded up the cat would be peering over the top of the pocket. The handkerchief itself was a dark navy and the cat both showed against and blended in, depending on the angle you looked at it. Though the eyes seemed to stare at you no matter how it was held.

"It's great Mari. Way better than the drawing you did of it. I've gotta ask though, is it Chat Noir themed?" Adrien leaned close, his lips hovering just a breaths distance away from hers as he spoke low.

"Yup. I've got a whole set of ideas based on Chat Noir and Ladybug. For both men and women." She turned away and reached for her sketchbook, knowing full well that she was leaving him hanging for a kiss. She started flipping through the pages, "I'm going to use a few of these for assignments but I'm hoping to use a good number of them for my portifilo for graduation."

Adrien harrumphed and turned Marinette back to him. He kissed her forehead. "I'm sure they will be amazing."

Marinette tossed her sketchbook on the table and cupped both sides of his face with her hands. She pulled him down and kissed him properly. Adrien almost lost his balance and braced himself on the table and the arm of her chair. Eagerly returning the kiss. He pulled Marinette up as he stood and pulled her close, deepening the kiss.

Their tongues darted around each other. Marinette's hands roamed over Adriens' shoulders and arms. Adrien's hands drifted from her waist to her hips, pulling her closer and trying to mould her to him. His mouth pulled from hers and started to leave small fluttery kisses along her jaw up to her ear, then he kissed his way down her throat to her collarbone and lavished moist open mouth kisses at the hollow there.

Marinette moaned and tilted her head back, giving him free range to roam over her neck. Her hands moved to his back and pulled him closer to her. One hand slid up to his blonde locks and her fingers burried themselves there. Flexing and twitching with each gasp and moan Adrien pulled from her.

Adrien kissed his way back up her neck to pull and tease at her lips before slipping his tongue inside and using one had to cup her bottom while the other slid along her leg to pull it up over his hip.

A tiny voice yelled out from the other side of the room, "You two might want to stop sucking face and take a look at this."

Adrien pulled away from Marinette rubbing his temple as they both went to the couch in front of the TV. "Plagg, you've got to work on your manners." He said to the kwamii as he was floating there.

Plagg and Tikki had been watching a comedy movie on the TV, it had been interrupted with a news bulletin. Another akuma was loose in Paris.

"Well, it has been almost 3 weeks since the last attack. I thought Hawk Moth might be giving up, he has been attacking so infrequently the past few months." Marinette leaned over the couch to get a better look at the area the attack was happening in.

Adrien stretched. "My Lady, shall we go?"

"Sure thing Kitty."

They transformed together. "I have been wondering Chat, what's up with the clawing at the air near the end of your transformation? Does it help you feel more cat like?" She giggled.

"Hey, don't you knock it Bugaboo. It makes a lot more sense than that high kick you do at the end."

Ladybug laughed, "I kind of just let the transformation take me." She poked Chat's bell with her finger, causing it to ring. Chat opened the hidden door to a sectioned off portion of his balcony, bowing for her to take the lead. And with that they were off, bounding into the night to save Paris once again.


	14. Chapter 14 - Author Notes

Hi Everyone!

This is a bonus piece. I meant to post this yesterday but didn't have time until now.

Blind Date the restaurant, is done. 12 actual chapters with an Epilogue.

Right now I'd like to do some author notes.

First I'd like to thank my husband for being a proofreader, and my daughter for being a proofreader and my cover artist. They were both a source of inspiration to keep going and they listened to me every time I squeed over all the comments I received.

Next I'd like to thank everyone who... favourited, followed, kudoed, subscribed, bookmarked or liked my work. You all gave me the omph to make sure I didn't miss any updates with Blind Date.

My writing style was ingrained into me back in high school in the 80's. Back then if you wanted something published you had to have the whole thing done. So I did. The story had gone through 2 full drafts before the version I started releasing every week. This does not mean that I didn't make changes as I went. I added up some lines, reworded sections and generally made sure my chapter was really ready before posting the next one. I took the few comments to heart that were about changes to my writing but didn't feel that all of them should affect the story.

I'm sorry if I didn't get to respond to everyone's comments. I tried a lot at first but come April my work started to ramp up and I didn't have all the free time that I used to have. Also I started writing for Adrinette April 2019. Around the 20th real life got in the way. But I am going to keep going on it. Hopefully by mid May I'll have it done and I'll have some Marichat May under my belt.

One comment that I want to address is that there was 2 guests (may have been the same) that said my chapters should be longer. Then I had someone remark that one of my chapters (which was long) was too long. I learned way back when that a chapter should be exactaly as long as needed to get the main idea or point across. Don't add or subtract to fit a certain length.

Anyway, thank you all for reading my story, enjoying it and possibly some of you passing it along to others. I do plan to write more and I'll probably post multi chapter stories after finishing the whole story again. Depends on the length.

Thanks for riding the ride!


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